Download roman medicine and the legions: a reconsideration

ROMAN MEDICINE AND THE LEGIONS:
A RECONSIDERATION*
by
JOHN SCARBOROUGH
ALTHOUGH all general histories of medicine make reference to skilled doctors in the
Roman legions, the specialized secondary literature on the subject is not plentiful.'
Garrison, Jacob, Haberling, and Richmond, among others, are mentioned when one
speaks of works on the question of medicine in the Roman legions. Apparently the
problem of doctors in the legions has been considered settled.
Previous discussions generally argue that the legion was supplied with skilled
medical care. The evidence noted consists of numerous inscriptions found throughout
the empire, which mention in one military context or another, a medicus or a iatros.
According to the usual view the reliefs on the Column of Trajan reinforce the inscriptional evidence of trained doctors in the legions. Normally omitted from detailed
discussion is the broader perspective presented by literary sources. Like all things
Roman, the legions must be considered as a part of the general cultural matrix, and
they cannot be separated in a historical analysis from the society from which they
took their origin. Also we must be exceedingly wary of equating twentieth-century
medicine with the practice and theory of medicine in the Roman Empire. As Sigerist
has so carefully and pointedly observed, modem conceptualizations of medicine,
* The following abbreviations are used in this study: CIL: Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum.
IGRR: Inscriptiones Graecae ad res Romanas pertinentes. OGIS: Orientis Graecae Inscriptiones
sekectac.
1 The bibliography on the Roman medicus and related problems includes the following: 0. Jacob,
'Le service de sant6 dans les arm6es romaines', L'Antiquitu classique, 1933, 2, 313-29 (further citations
as 'Jacob'); W. Haberling, 'Die altromischen MilitArarzte', Veroff. Geb. MilitSanitWes., 1910, 42,
79 pp. (cited hereafter as 'Haberling'); H. Droysen, 'Das Milit&rmedizinalwesen der romischen
Kaiserzeit', Dt. militirdrztl. Z., 1874, 3, 38-42; H. Frohlich, 'Ueber die Kriegschirurgie der alten
Romer', Arch. klin. Chir., 1880, 25, 315-19; H. Liebl, 'Zum SanitAtswesen im romischen Heere',
Wiener Studien, 1902, 24, 381-85; J. Stuart (ed.), 'Was the Roman army supplied with medical
offiesrs, Archaeological Essays, Edinburgh, 1872, 197-227; J. Elliott, 'Medical service with the
Roman legions', N. Z. med. J., 1949, 48, 585-90; I. A. Richmond, 'The Roman army medical
service', Univ. Durham med. Gaz., June 1952, 2-6.
For developments in the Later Empire, see G. Pezzi, 'Alessandro di Tralles visto da un medico
militare', Ann. Med. nav. colon., 1949, 54, 154-63. The general context is suggested by H. Barnes,
'On Roman medicine and Roman medical inscriptions found in Britain', Proc. Roy. Soc. Med., 1914,
8, 71-87; and R. Briau, 'M6moire sur l'assistance m&dicale chez les Romains', Mem. pr&s. div. Sav.
Acad. Inscrip. Belles-Lettres, 1874, 8, 121-210; and Du Service de Sante militaire chez les Romaines,
Paris, 1866. General development of military medicine is traced in F. H. Garrison, Notes on the
History of Military Medicine, Washington, 1922 (pp. 47-77 for discussion of Roman medicine).
All of these secondary studies attest to the major importance of inscriptions for their conclusions.
One needs to note the broad span of time that the studies cover and the vast geographical variance
that may have been present in the actual practice of medicine in the legions. Our evidence is such
that general conclusions can be drawn for the 600-year development of legionary medicine, but
inscriptional finds are, for example, common only in the period of the Early Empire. Literary sources
are almost as scanty and scattered for the topic, and although one would like to clarify certain
patterns of medical practice in a given period as distinguished from other periods, the paucity of
firm evidence presents problems. Parker and Starr have been able to show directions of development
in the legion and the Roman navy, but medical practice, as such, can only be seen clearly m the
numerous inscriptions of the Early Empire. When the inscriptional evidence is filled out with important
references from Celsus, Cicero, Caesar, Velleius Paterculus, Plutarch, and Vegetius, we can formulate
a conclusion for military medicine in the first two centuries of the Empire.
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science, and society often do not apply to antiquity. So it is with consideration of the
medicus in the Roman legion.
First, to trace Roman concepts of medical care in the legions, a brief consideration
of practice as it emerged in the Roman Republic is appropriate.
The sources which relate the early military history of Rome and her arduous conquest of the Italian peninsula have few references to medical matters in the phalanxlegion as it evolved in the Republic. Medical care was minimal and there was little
provision for the wounded. The Romans adapted new techniques on an ill-defined
scale and some Hellenistic practices became predominant as time went on. The
evolution of medical practice in the legions resembled closely the development of
medicine in Roman society at large. The crude medicine practised by the soldiery
upon themselves was designed to get the warrior back into battle as quickly as
possible. Care was taken of the wounded by the commanding general, and the
prevailing attitude caused one modem authority to comment that the Roman army
had as its major characteristic a sort of 'stoicism' which allowed the soldiers to be
unworried about medical aid.'
A good general was one who billeted his wounded in a friendly town or fortress.'
The soldier was dependent upon his fellows for aid and this medicine resembled that
used by the Roman civilian who practised a sort of 'folk' medicine.4 The contention
that there was a voluntary medical corps with the legions which treated wounds and
diseases has no foundation on the available evidence, especially from the Republic.5
The problem of the wounded would not be too important if the Roman legion won
its battles; those who were victorious in ancient warfare usually did not lose many
men, whereas those who lost normally -lost everything.6
As the Romans came to know the Hellenistic world, the Roman general adopted a
practice that was common among Hellenistic commanders. A personal physician
often accompanied the general on the battlefield.7 On the other hand, before a
definite reference from Cicero, there is little indication that the common soldier had
access to medical care.8 The soldiers of the higher ranks, who were of aristocratic
extraction, had a 'refreshment retreat' in their tents which they could use and to
which they could retire when they became tired or wounded. The Romans apparently
regarded the 'retreat' as a portable relaxation point rather than a special place to
2 Dionysius of Halicamassus, IX, 50. 5; the description of soldiers putting on themselves fake
wound dressings so as to escape fighting; it would seem that soldiers were accustomed to put on their
own dressings. Polybius, III, 66. 9; Publius cares for himself and his wounded. Plutarch, Antony,
43. 1; Antony gives sympathy to his wounded soldiers; they in turn beg him kEpoae£irv CTr6v.
Plutarch, Crassus, 25. 5; the soldiers are pictured as attempting to pull the barbed Parthian arrows
from their own wounds. So-called stoicism: Jacob, 317-18.
' Livy, IV, 39; XXXVII, 33; XL, 33.
4 Dionysius of Halicarnassus, IX, 50. 5; the reference (note 2 above) shows that the soldiers were
skilled in wound dressing if they thought they could deceive with their own. Cato, 114-15, 127,
156-60, indicates what sort of 'medicine' was known by the Roman citizens in the Republic, and
Roman citizens, of course, served in the legions.
6 C. Lamarre, De la milice Romaine, Paris, 1870, 352, states this view.
F. E. Adcock, The Greek and Macedonian Art of War, Berkeley, 1962, 14-28, 64-98, and Te
Roman Art of War under the Republic, Cambridge, 1963, 3-28. H. M. D. Parker, Roman Legions,
Cambridge, 1961, 1-46.
7 Plutarch, Marius, 6. 3; Caesar, 34. 3; Pompey, 2. 5-6.
8 Cicero, 7usculan Disputations, IT, 16. 38.
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go for the treatment of wounds.9
The Roman consul borrowed some of the devices that are seen in Xenophon'0 and
he adopted them with Roman forthrightness; some of the troops functioned as a
medical staff as the need arose. Roman consuls were often skilled wound dressers in
their own right and their knowledge of such matters stemmed from long years in the
legions."1
Cicero tells us that the experienced soldier was confident of treatment in the field
but the novice despaired at the slightest hurt.12 His use of medicus is the first definite
reference we have of medical aid for the legionary. The imprecise Latin, however,
leaves the modem reader with the impression the medicus was just another soldier,
but one who had been judged experienced among the legionaries in problems of
wound dressing.'3 Usually the term medicus was attached almost indiscriminately
to anyone who appeared as if he knew something of medicine, and Apollo medicus
commanded a large following with a set of quasi-medical sayings."4
The stereotype of the military physician, as the Roman thought of him, is presented
by Virgil, and the figure fits the evidence that we possess for both the military and
civilian modes of life in the late Republic and the Early Empire.
At this point, Iapis, the son of Iasus, came up: this man
Was especially dear to Apollo, who, seized by intense passion
For him, had delightedly offered him his own arts, his own powers
Of divination, of music, of shooting the swift-flying arrow.
lapis, to lengthen the life of a father desperately ill
Elected the knowledge of healing herbs, the science of medicine
Choosing to practice an art which has little riclame, in obscurity."'
Virgil gives clues of the common attitude about a soldier's troubles, and the military
man was admired for the amount of physical punishment he could take. Virgil
echoes some of the callous opinions that strike the modem reader in the fragments
of Ennius.16
Caesar has many passages which allow us to determine whether or not an official
medical corps was available to the Roman legionary. His regard for the safety and
well-being of his trusted legions is apparent in his writing. Concern for individuals
@ Plutarch, Aemilius Paulus, 22. 1; used for celebration of victory. Brutus, 4. 4; his tent contained
refreshment
for the tired gereral.
10 Xenophon, Anabasis, IH, 4. 30: 'They appointed eight physicians for there were many wounded.'
Stuart, Archaeological Essays, 208, says that arpoas =TraTrnaav 6rco means that there were eight
soldiers who were trained physicians and who knew surgery.
11 Polybius, III, 66. 9; see note 2 above. That a general would 'care for himself and his wounded'
indicates that the tradition was strong.
1I Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, II, 16. 28. Silius Italicus, VI, 68-69; the wounded soldier expects
someone to come bind up his wounds. Caesar, African War, 21; notes that soldiers have their wounds
dressed. These indicate that the customary use of the medicus is well established, and that they are
to by their fellow legionaries for their specialized function.
looked
"I Medicus as used in Latin literature takes on a variety of meanings. In Silius Italicus, M, 300, it
has a definite connotation of magic. In Virgil, Georgics, 1I, 455, and Ovid, Tristia, V, 6. 12, the term
denotes merely 'healing ability'. Cicero, Pro Cluentio, XI, 57, Suetonius, Nero, 37, Plautus,
Menaechmi, V, 3. 9, and Juvenal, II, 13, use medicus to signify what we would term a physician or a
surgeon. Pliny XXIX, 6. 13, attempts to define his subject by referring to a vulnerarius ('wound
specialist').
14 Macrobius, Saturnalia, I, 17. 15. Virgil Aeneid, XII, 391-97.
1516 Virgil, Aeneid, XII, 391-97. trans. C. Day Lewis, Virgil's Aeneid, New York, 1953, 301.
Ennius, frgs. 140, 284, 285, 609. (ed. Vahlen).
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serving under his standards marks Caesar as one of the great leaders of men, and a
passage from the Galic War, which relates to our discussion, points this up well.
One of the sick men who had been left behind with the guard was Publius Sextius Baculus.
He had served under Caesar as a senior centurion, and he has been mentioned in regard to
previous battles. He had already been five days without food. Now unsure about his own safety,
and that of the others, he went forth from his tent unarned ... Sextius fell unconscious as he
was seriously wounded, and he was just barely saved by being dragged from the scene from
hand to hand. 17
Caesar praises the man's valour and this kind of eulogy is repeated throughout the
Gallic War.18 It seems odd, however, that although Caesar reports numbers of the
wounded and the condition of some of the wounded, he fails to account for how they
might have been treated.19 Jacob argues that since Caesar does not bother to talk of
this matter, the wounded were taken care of by a medical corps that Caesar took for
granted.20 A sounder conclusion would be that there was a kind of defacto medical
service of soldier-medici which obviated notice.
An official medical service was not a part of the Roman consul's planning on the
field of battle. The account given by Plutarch of the disaster at Carrhae shows this
clearly.21 With an elaborate expedition such as Crassus prepared against Parthia, a
medical staff would have been included if it was customary to have an official service
on the battlefield. Again we can note that the generals supplied themselves with
physicians who attended to their personal needs.22 Caesar recognized the value of
billeting his wounded in a safe spot so that they might return to battle, and his
system of evacuation of his wounded shows considerable foresight.23 The major
characteristic of the references that Caesar gives us about his sick and wounded is
one of praise for the endurance of his troops, and great hints of the typical, coldblooded, 'stoic' attitude of the Roman legionary.
Thus by the end of the Republic, Roman military medicine was modelled to a
certain degree upon precedents common in the Greek armies of the Hellenistic
period. The consul and the noble elements of the legion supplied themselves with
personal medical care, but the legionary was left in the care of the medici.24 The
superb discipline of the Roman legion and its winning record kept the usual incidence
of wounded low, but the legionary, like his enemies, suffered from the devastations
of disease until the use of the valetudinarium, and sanitary measures became commonplace in the Empire.25
Inscriptions from the Empire, as well as further literary references, indicate the
unofficial basis of medical care in the legions. In speaking of the primorum ordinum
Gallic War, VI,
15 Caesar,
e.g. Gallic War, IV, 12. 4; V, 35. 6.
1* Galic War, I, 26. 5; V, 52. 2 and 35. 8; VI, 38. 1-4. Plutarch, Caesar, 16.
'0'1 Plutarch,
Jacob, 326.
Crassus, 24-25.
17
38. 1-4.
"' Plutarch, Marius, 6. 3: Eyvo 1rapacxEuv &t6v T4Z IaTrpcj. In Tiberius Gracchus, 5. 4, Plutarch
notes that camp followers include what are probably medical attendants: dvEv eepaeiMasl TaV ({@
T&ECO$S &iopvCOv.
"Civil War, III, 78. 2. African War, 21.
"Velleius Paterculus, II, 114. 3 (by implication). Tacitus, Histories, II, 45: 'Isdem tentoriis alii
fratrem, alii propinquorum fovebant.'
'" Caesar, Civil War, III, 87. 2.
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as being a select group of century commanders whom he used as an informal consultation committee, Caesar provides a key to explain the often occurring inscriptional
medicus ordinarius.2 Since Caesar's council was one of men taken from the ranks
and distinctly one of an informal nature, the medicus ordinarius, medicus cohortis,
and the medicus legionis functioned on the same basis. The inscriptions show that
this position was one of great respect, but that the individual so named was first a
soldier in his duties, not a physician.27 It is to the Romans' credit that they recognized
the need for such a service, but the solution was not a medical corps whereby trained
physicians became a part of the army. The response to the problem of proper care
for the sick and the wounded in the legions took the form that the Roman would
understand and he thought that it was effective for the need as it was demonstrated.
The wounded were cared for, as far as possible on the field, and the transportable sick
were placed in valetudinaria along with the more severely wounded. The Romans
clearly distinguished in the legions between the treatment of the 'sick' and the
'wounded'.
Examples from the inscriptions and from archaeological excavation illustrate the
approach. An inscription found in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall tells in terse terms
of the gratitude felt by the soldiers of the first Tungrian Cohort for one Ancius
Ingenuus, who had died at the age of twenty-five. His memorial tablet was embellished
to an extent that might not be expected, and he is styled medicus ordinarius.'" This
indicates his status as one of the ranks, but his status of great respect among his
fellow soldiers.29 Compassion was as highly prized among the Roman legionaries
as it is in any age. Titus Claudius Hymnus, medicus legionis to the XXI Claudia,
is commemorated in a similar fashion.Y The Cohors IV Praetoria gives us an interesting example of a medicus cohortis who erected a memorial to himself and to his
dependents."' The tone of the inscription allows the modem viewer to observe what
" Caesar, Gallic War, I, 41. 3. Parker, Roman Legions, 32.
'7 Haberling, 26, notices this problem'... trotzdem er [Deciminus: medicus ordinarius legionis in
Lower Germany (CIL, III, 4279)] aktiver soldat war . . .', but quickly passes over it to other matters.
Haberling's study has a magnificent summary 'proving' that physicians were in the legions.
The informal status of the title is firmly indicated by the multiplicity of designations of the medici
in the legions. CIL, XIII, 7943 (M. Sabinianus Quictus, medicus miles of the I Minervia at Bonn).
CIL, III, 143475 (T. Aurelius Numerius, medicus legionis of the XXII Primigenia from Aquincum in
Hungary). CIL, III, 5959 (Ulpius Lucilianus, medicus ordinarius of the III Italica from Lambaesis in
Algeria). CIL, IJI, 6532 (an anonymous medicus [?] ordinarius legionis of the III Italica from Castra
Regina [Regensberg]). CIL, VIII, 18314 (Papirius Aelianus, medicus ordinarius legionis of the III
Augusta from Lambaesis). CIL, III, 3413 (Marcus Marcellus, medicus of an undetermined legion
from Aquincum). This inscription is an important one, clearly showing the status of the medicus
and how the probable system functioned under the direction of a superior officer: 'Asclepio et Hygiae
Mar[ciusJ Marcellus, med[icus] sub c[ur] a[gente?] P. Va(l[erio]) Praesent[e] evoc[ato] v[otum]
s[olvit] l[ibens] m[erito].' CIL, Im, 14349 (Caius Nundinius Optervius, medicus stipendiis of an
undetermined legion from Aquincum). Greek inscriptions tell another side of the story. IGRR, 1.
1212, shows a Greek physician functioning in the II Trajana from Thebae in Egypt (dated A.D. 147).
IGRR, 1. 1361 (OGIS, 207), indicates that an Egyptian temple physician was servicing the XXII
Deiotariana in the Hellenistic tradition. In the Latin inscriptions, other titles abound. CIL, VI, 2532
(Rome): medicus clinicis cohortis. CIL, XIII (Lugdunum): medicus castrensis, are but two of many
varieties.
' CIL, VII, 690.
" The individuals who function as medici in the auxilia show their non-Roman origins (names
listed in Haberling, 73), but their designations follow the pattern noted for the legions. e.g. CIL, III,
4279, 5959, 6532; XIII, 6621, 7094, 7415.
'° CIL, Xm, 2308.
31 CIL, VI, 2532.
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Roman Medicine and the Legions
could be called 'scientific magic' in the taking of vows in connection with the function
of the medicus in the legions. The Roman navy had its own variety of 'doctor',
termed the medicus duplicarius, and his skill was limited.32
The great number of inscriptions indicate the medicus to be very common, particularly in the frontier posts. We can assume that the medici were on hand at most points
to render what aid they could, and probably the newer medici learned their medicine
from the 'senior' medici present in the legion.
As the Roman legion developed efficiency and learned to deal with isolated locations
which made it impossible for the wounded to be evacuated to a safe Roman fort or
allied town, it began to build valetudinaria which would serve this function. These
structures were the Roman answer to isolation and proved to be an integral part of
the castra, especially on the frontier.33 Here the medici, experienced as they were in
the wounds of war, treated their comrades. The legionary hospitals were carefully
planned and show insight into drainage problems with regard to sanitary conditions.34
Roman engineering skill is apparent and one must admire these islands of hope
placed at the edge of the civilized world. Again it should be emphasized that the
valetudinaria argue for the medical care of the sick as the Roman thought of them
in contradistinction from the wounded. They indicate that the Roman army was
following good military practice by providing a place for the sick and the transportable wounded near to the source of manpower need. In an age where geographical
distances were fantastic, this points to the element of genius inherent in Roman
military organization.
Literary evidence spanning the entire course of the Roman Empire points firmly
to the lack of an organization of an official medical service which would administer
to the common soldier. In his praise of Tiberius, Velleius Paterculus reveals the
presence of medical care for the officers of the legions, but not for the common soldier.
And now for a detail which in telling may lack grandeur, but is most important by reason of the
true and substantial personal qualities it reveals and also of its practical service ... a thing
most pleasant as an experience and remarkable for the kindness it displayed. Throughout the
whole period of the German and Pannonian War there was not one of us, or of those either
above or below our rank, who fell ill without having his health and welfare looked after by
Caesar with as much solicitude indeed as though this were the chief occupation of his mind
preoccupied though he was by his heavy responsibilities. There was a horsed vehicle for all
those who needed it; his own litter was at the disposal of all, and I, among others, have enjoyed
its use. Now his physicians, now his kitchen, now his bathing equipment, brought for this one
purpose for himself alone, ministered to the comfort of all who were sick. All they lacked was
their home and their domestic servants, but nothing else that friends at home could furnish or
desire for them."
Even the aristocrat was grateful for good medical care. The passage indicates that
"2CIL, VI, 3910; VU, 1144; X, 3442-44; XI, 19. A von Domaszewski, Die Rangordnung des
romischen Heeres, Bonn, 1908, 15 and 45. C. G. Starr, Roman Imperial Navy, Cambridge, 1960, 56.
Duplicarius merely indicates that the individual received double pay.
" The literature on the legionary hospitals is plentiful. Examples are I. A. Richmond, 'Roman Britain
and Roman military antiquities', Proceedings of the British Academy, XLI (1955), 297-315 [314-315];
R. Schultze, 'Die rbmische Legionslazarette in Vetera und anderen Legionslagern', Bonner Jahrbucher,
1934, 139, 54-63, and C. Koenen, 'Beschreibung von Novaesium', Bonner Jahrbucher, 1904, 111-112,
97-242 (5-6, 28, 53-54, 180-82).
" Richmond, 314-15. Schultze, 56-58.
"Veicius Paterculus, II, 114. 1-3. Trans. F. W. Shipley (Loeb).
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trained physicians available for the legion at large were rare and that Tiberius followed
the practice of the best Roman generals. Such care was not usual and the soldiers
received the ministrations of the medici in their own ranks. In another context Tacitus
crisply notes the thankfulness of the soldiers when Agrippina went among the
wounded and acted as a nurse, dressing the wounds and giving clothing to those
who needed it.36 At another point Tacitus states bluntly that the soldiers took care of
their own wounds and doctored one another.37 The image of medicine in the legions
shows no trained physician in attendance, and that the training of the medici consisted
of experience with a common knowledge of anatomy and medicine in the day-to-day
needs of the legion.
Celsus remarks that anatomy can be learned from the wounds of a soldier in battle
and Galen says that the medical attendants in the German Wars were like untrained
empirics not to dissect the bodies of the dead German warriors to learn something
more than they knewY38 Celsus gives us a detailed account of missile injuries and this
may show the level of skill attained by the best of the military medici.39 From the
evidence that we have of the medicus, he gathered his craft within the legion and was
not a trained physician in either the Hellenistic fashion of Galen or in the Latinized
manner that Celsus suggested.40
The often-cited reliefs of a medicus treating the wounded, as depicted on Trajan's
Column, reinforce the conclusions that the inscriptions and literary evidence give us.
The medici treating the wounded on Trajan's Column are dressing superficial wounds
and their dress is identical with that of the soldiers they are aiding.41 Trajan's Column
would thus bear out the general picture: the medici were those soldiers of a legion or
of an auxiliary detachment who had demonstrated their capabilities for wound
dressing and a primitive surgery, but who were not trained physicians.42 This tradition
reached back many centuries in Roman warfare. Whether or not the best of the
Roman legionary medici consulted medical handbooks such as Celsus must remain
theoretical.
Returning to further references from the literary sources, one notes the unofficial
basis admitted in many cases. As time passed the soldiers seemed to have received
less attention of the quality noted in the Early Empire, and the camp praefect was
86 Tacitus, Annals,
87
38
I, 69.
Tacitus, Histories, II, 45.
Celsus, Prooemiun, 43. Galen, XIII, 604.
Celsus, VII, 5.
'g In another context, Galen gives a clue to the regard within the legion for the medicus. In quoting
from the 'military physician' Antigonus, Galen begins as follows (XII, 557): 'AA?o 'AnI-y6vov Iv
rPaToroWIrcp ninrpcs ka-prcaaos. The key is the use of, irnta*cos which in this context can be rendered
as 'approved',or 'designated', or 'marked off as'. Approval is indicated with the use of ranfios by
Isocrates, XII, 2 (ed. Blass). Polybius, I, 37. 4, uses tricmiaaia to tell of an 'appearance' and the same
use is found in Plutarch, Numa, 22, and Sulla, 14. Galen, XIV, 661, uses the root in a passive sense
'showing' symptoms of a disease, as does Thucydides, II, 49: T;SV dKpWTrrpicoV &vrrnIYS croOV
Ier67"Aaivev. ('The seizure of his extremities set a mark upon him' [Liddell and Scott, 655]). Thus
our original passage from Galen (XII, 557) should be rendered something like 'Another [recipe]
of Antigonus, designated as practising medicine in a legionary camp'. This evidence links well with
the inscriptional story of the 'designation' of the medicus.
'1 K. Lehmann-Hartleben, Die Traianssaule, Berlin, 1926, P1. 22 (XL-XLI). Useful is I. A. Richmond,
'Trajan's army on Trajan's Column', Papers of the British School at Rome, 13, 1-40 (13-14).
Is Lehmann-Hartleben, P1. 22. The soldiers being treated are looking at the medici with pained
3
resignation.
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Roman Medicine and the Legions
put in charge of what medical care they got.'3 Problems with camp followers posing
as medical men are seen in the following:
Let the soldier be treated by a doctor without cost, let him give nothing to the soothsayers,
let them spend their time in their quarters [hospitiis] in abstinence from sensual pleasures as if
for religious reasons [caste]."
. . . those who are most knowledgeable in military matters are of the opinion that daily exercise
contributes far greater health to the soldiers than do the physician.4' ...
If trained physicians were present among the legions in the Later Empire, the type
of medicine they practised seems to remind us of the repute of certain doctors often
noted in authors of the Early Empire.46 Galen tells us that he was summoned to give
proper medical treatment at the front where little apparently existed-as he saw it.
Galen notes that many doctors 'talk' medicine without proving their skill.47
Scriptores hdstoriae Augustae, Aurelian, VII, 8.
Ibid.
is Vegetius, II, 2. In II, 10, Vegetius describes how medical care is in charge of the praefect of the
camp, and this is what the evidence of CIL, HII, 3413, would indicate (inscription quoted in note
27 above).
" Lucian, Gout, is an example of a bitter caricature of the helpless doctor with many promises.
47 Galen, XXV, 649-50.
"
"
261